This survey was conducted by the National Youth Gang
Intervention and Suppression Program. The primary goals of the program
were to assess the national scope of the gang crime problem, to
identify promising programs and approaches for dealing with the
problem, to develop prototypes from the information gained about the
most promising programs, and to provide technical assistance for the
development of gang intervention and suppression programs nationwide.
The survey was designed to encomp... (more info)

This survey was conducted by the National Youth Gang
Intervention and Suppression Program. The primary goals of the program
were to assess the national scope of the gang crime problem, to
identify promising programs and approaches for dealing with the
problem, to develop prototypes from the information gained about the
most promising programs, and to provide technical assistance for the
development of gang intervention and suppression programs nationwide.
The survey was designed to encompass every agency in the country that
was engaged in or had recently engaged in organized responses specifically
intended to deal with gang crime problems. Cities were screened with
selection criteria including the presence and recognition of a youth
gang problem and the presence of a youth gang program as an organized
response to the problem. Respondents were classified into several major
categories and subcategories: law enforcement (mainly police,
prosecutors, judges, probation, corrections, and parole), schools
(subdivided into security and academic personnel), community, county,
or state planners, other, and community/service (subdivided into youth
service, youth and family service/treatment, comprehensive crisis
intervention, and grassroots groups). These data include variables
coded from respondents' definitions of the gang, gang member, and gang
incident. Also included are respondents' historical accounts of the
gang problems in their areas. Information on the size and scope of the
gang problem and response was also solicited.

Universe:
The population includes all participants in community-based
gang intervention and suppression programs in the continental United
States that could be identified in 1987.

Data Types:
survey data

Methodology

Sample:
Of the 45 cities and sites meeting the selection criteria,
21 were classified as "chronic" and 24 as "emerging" youth gang
problem cities. After a city or jurisdiction was included in the
survey, a snowball sampling technique was employed. The initial
respondent was asked for a list of other key agencies involved in the
community's organized gang response. Each of the identified people at
these agencies was subsequently contacted and also asked for such a
list, and the interviewer assigned to the city continued to contact
actors until all actors' lists were exhausted. Data were collected on
254 respondents.

Data Source:

personal interviews

Version(s)

Original ICPSR Release:1992-10-31

Version History:

2006-01-12 All files were removed from dataset 6 and flagged as study-level files, so that they will accompany all downloads.

1997-08-15 SAS and SPSS data definition statements are now
available for Part 1 only of this collection.